BRAIN CELL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does brain cell mean? 

• BRAIN CELL (noun)
  The noun BRAIN CELL has 1 sense:

1. a nerve cell in the brain

  Familiarity information: BRAIN CELL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BRAIN CELL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A nerve cell in the brain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("brain cell" is a kind of...):

nerve cell; neuron (a cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "brain cell"):

Golgi's cell; Golgi cell (a neuron in the cerebral cortex with short dendrites and with either a long axon or a short axon that ramifies in the grey matter)

Purkinje cell (a large densely branching neuron that is the characteristic cell of the cerebellar cortex)

Holonyms ("brain cell" is a part of...):

brain; encephalon (that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord)

 Context examples 

A treatment to help brain cells survive a stroke-induced lack of oxygen and glucose could dramatically improve patient outcomes, but no such neuroprotective agents for stroke patients exist.

(Hibernating ground squirrels provide clues to new stroke treatments, National Institutes of Health)

PD is a neurodegenerative disorder in which dopamine-producing brain cells die off, resulting in tremors, muscle stiffness, loss of balance and slow movement.

(Immune system may mount an attack in Parkinson’s disease, National Institutes of Health)

The researchers traced the path of ipRGC signals through rat optic nerves, where they later converged on brain cells that transmit pain.

(How Light Boosts Migraine Pain, NIH, US)

When the researchers looked at the affected brain cells more closely, they saw the buildup of a protein called α-synuclein, a hallmark of Parkinson’s, and defects in pathways that clear cellular garbage.

(Scientists find a role for Parkinson’s gene in the brain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The mice did not have the stuttering-like vocalizations when the mutation was engineered into other types of brain cells.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

But we’re watching people remember things almost perfectly without showing any of the continuous activity that would come with brain cells firing.

(Recalling temporary memories, NIH)

The aggregation of amyloid-beta eventually leads to the formation of amyloid plaques, in a toxic chain reaction that leads to the death of brain cells.

(Brain cholesterol associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, University of Cambridge)

These cells may also protect brain cells from damage and may improve neurocognition.

(Autologous Pluripotent ALDHbr Stem Cells ALD-451, NCI Thesaurus)

A brain tumor that forms from more than one type of brain cell, usually astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

(Mixed glioma, NCI Dictionary)

Namenda blocks the uptake of calcium by certain brain cells and decreases their activity.

(Namenda, NCI Dictionary)